NY swift water rescue team returns from NC

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)— Two hundred twenty-one New York State and local government employees went down to help North Carolina after Hurricane Helene hit the state causing widespread destruction and even deaths.

At the end of September, sixteen swift water rescue personell and two canines from New York were deployed to help North Carolina after Helene tore through the western part of state.

“It’s something you never expect to see,” said Tech Sargent, David Fisher of the New York State Police. “The devastation was worse than anything I had seen before.”

After spending two weeks helping with the aftermath of the storm, some of New York’s crews recently returned home.

Fisher said the people impacted by the storm were grateful for the help.

“Everyone we encountered was very thankful,” explained Fisher. “They couldn’t believe that people from New York came down to help them. So everybody was very supportive. They were offering us their food.”

Lawrence O’Leary, Executive Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, explained what the crews were tasked to do.

“They rescued over 60 people, not evacuations, rescues,” said O’Leary. “They visited over 900 homes checking to make sure they were checking on people who were stranded there that they had access to services. It’s really taxing work and there’s not a lot of down time.”

New York National Guard members were also deployed to North Carolina helping with engineering and search and recovery efforts. This week, army and air service members were sent down to Florida to help after Hurricane Milton, including pararescue crews from Long Island.

“We offered the State of Florida just any assistance with that. They are all trained EMTs so they can get involved with parachuting, scuba diving, survival skills, so they can if needed have specialized vehicles and water craft to help and assist too,” explained Lt. Colonel, Jean Marie Kratzer, NY Army National Guard.

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